DR. MARTENS SPEAKS TO LIFE

It’s festival season and Hull-based DIY Punk band Life aren’t shy of the festival circuit, playing throughout the summer. Fresh from the release of their debut album ‘Popular Music‘, the four piece caught up with us to discuss their inspiration, festival favourites and more. Oh, and you can catch Life taking centre stage as headliner in their hometown’s own Humber Street Sesh on Saturday 5th August.

For those who don’t know Life, how would you sum yourselves up in a sentence?
We are four punks from Hull who are politically astute, angry, intelligent and simply, air-punchingly brilliant.

Your debut album ‘Popular Music’ is now in Dr. Martens store jukeboxes across across the UK and Europe – exciting times. Can you tell us more about the debut album? We’re dying to know everything from inspiration to any challenges you guys had.
What can I say other than it’s the best album of the year innit. It has three core characteristics. First there’s the anxiety that goes hand-in-hand with being a grassroots band, where every purchase is a dent in our income and where every month-long tour might mean having to quit our day jobs. The second characteristic is a sense of frustration – at globe-changing political events, right through to the day-to-day of being in a band hundreds of miles from the capital and the industry’s merry-go-round. The third characteristic, and the one that I think truly defines our debut, is one of action. These songs are proactive, as well as provocative. They command attention through sheer will alone. Instead of acknowledging an existence on the outskirts, we put our prospects in our own hands.

Life are set to headline Hulls finest Humber Street Sesh, tell us more about that?
It’s definitely going to be a moment for us. Hull has shaped everything we do as a band. The city lives in our music. We would play anywhere on the bill, that’s how much it means to us. We are gonna bring it, tear the stage up and show the city how much we love them.

Humber Street Sesh isn’t the only festival you’re at this summer, you’ve got a big line up the cards. Where are you most excited for?
We are looking forward to going back to Hamburg for the carnage that is Reeperbahn Festival. We were in Hamburg last November with our mates Slaves. We did two nights down the Reeperbahn supping heavy in the bars and putting out matches on our tongues; you know the usual kind of big time sesh. Live for the sesh, then eat falafel – that’s Father John’s motto.

Tell us about your first Dr. Martens:
Me mam and dad got me a pair of red boots when I was like 2 years old for nursery. We were living in Sheffield at the time, though that’s not really relevant. Anyways I never looked back. I guess at two years old the Dr. Martens beats a pair of socks. We are genuine fans though we stuck a pair of rare boots on a single sleeve and now they’re your best seller in Hull or something like that.

Name three tracks you’re listening to right now:
1. Protomartyr – A private understanding
2. The Growlers – I’ll Be Around
3. Idles – Well Done

What’s next for Life? What are you most excited about for the rest of the year?
Tours. Music. Long van rides. Pre-packaged sandwiches. Cheap Beer. More tours. More music. Cheaper beer. Sh*tter sandwiches. Who knows? We are workers. We put the work in and keep fighting. All we want is to spread ourselves like a fungal infection. Keep your ears open and your eyes pinned. We are coming.

What’s your favourite thing about the city you live in?
What’s not to love… we have the best people, a loyal community, whacked out creative minds and no egos. It’s all bravery innit. I like the fact that you can go out and get bait and sups without bankrupting yourself. I like the fact that you can drive out to the coast and loose yourself in our mist. I like the fact that we don’t give a f*ck about false scenes, we just spit passion and vibe.

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